Watch Amanda Knox first live interview since she was found guilty of the murder of Meredith Kercher for 2nd time VIDEO

Amanda Knox, Speaking in a live, exclusive interview with Robin Roberts on ABC’s Good Morning America Friday morning, Knox said she watched the verdict with her family as it was read live, televised online by an Italian television station.
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“This has really hit me like a train,” a sometimes tearful Knox told Roberts. “I really did not expect this to happen. I expected so much more,” she said, from the Italian justice system.

Knox vowed to fight the conviction “until the very end. It’s not right, and it’s not fair. I’m going to do everything I can,” she said.

In Thursday’s ruling, the court increased Knox’s sentence to 28½ years in prison, raising the specter of a long extradition fight.

Knox is now facing what seemed like a distant worry when she was giving national television interviews and promoting her autobiography last year: the possibility of being returned to Italy to serve decades in prison for the death of her roommate, Meredith Kercher.

Any decision on whether to extradite the 26-year-old from the U.S. is likely months away, at least. Experts have said it’s unlikely that Italy’s justice ministry would request Knox’s extradition before the verdict is finalized by the country’s high court.

If the conviction is upheld, a lengthy extradition process would likely ensue, with the U.S. State Department ultimately deciding whether to turn Knox back over to Italian authorities to finish serving her sentence.

Here’s how that might play out.

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EXTRADITION

Extradition is the process of one country surrendering to another country a person who has been accused or convicted of a crime. Under the terms of the extradition treaty between the U.S. and Italy, the offense must be a crime in each country and punishable by more than one year in prison.

Any request to extradite Knox would go to the U.S. State Department, which would evaluate whether Italy has a sufficient case for seeking Knox’s return. If so, the State Department would transfer the case to the Justice Department, which would represent the interests of the Italian government in seeking her arrest and transfer in U.S. District Court.

American courts have limited ability to review extradition requests from other countries, but rather ensure the extradition request meets basic legal requirements, said Mary Fan, a former U.S. federal prosecutor who teaches law at the University of Washington in Seattle.

Fan suggested that any decision by the State Department on whether to return Knox to Italy is “a matter of both law and politics.” From an American standpoint, the case at first seems to raise questions about double jeopardy – being tried twice for the same offense, as barred by the U.S. Constitution. Knox was first convicted, then acquitted, then, on Thursday, the initial conviction was reinstated.

Some observers have dismissed the double-jeopardy issue because Knox’s acquittal was not finalized by Italy’s highest court.

That said, creative defense lawyers might make an effort to fight extradition over concerns about the legal process or the validity of the conviction, Fan said, and those arguments could carry political weight too. “Many Americans are quite astonished by the ups and downs in this case, and it’s the U.S. that will ultimately be making the call about whether to extradite,” Fan said.

Sen. Maria Cantwell, D-Wash., said in a statement Thursday she was “very concerned and disappointed by this verdict.”

“I will continue to closely monitor this case as it moves forward through the Italian legal system,” Cantwell said.

Christopher Jenks, a former Army attorney who served as a State Department legal adviser and now teaches at Southern Methodist University’s law school, said Italy has a low bar to clear in compiling a legally sufficient extradition request. amanda knox gma sits down with interview with robin roberts,amanda knox good morning america interview on conviction in italy and potential extradition amanda knox video. amanda knox gma sits down with interview with robin roberts,amanda knox good morning america interview on conviction in italy and potential extradition amanda knox video.